I mentioned that I thought people could pay a little extra at each visit to cover the costs of euthanasia so it wouldn't exactly be the vet covering it. I realize that I also mentioned that the vet could take on this cost, but I didn't mean it should come out of their savings, but that the clinic could budget to not charge for euthanasia services. As for the emergency services, I would have gladly paid extra if there had been a way to save the cat but it just felt like a real slap in the face being there sobbing holding my dead cat and her tapping her foot saying , "that'll be $400"

Did the $400 charge include an exam (I cannot imagine that a euthanasia charge without any type of cremation expense was $400 by itself)? If so, you would still have had to pay for services that night, regardless of whether euthanasia was involved.

Half-marathon running Mommy to 3 spunky girls and 1 sweet boy. Spending my days and nights where my kids need me most- at home with them!!

Did the $400 charge include an exam (I cannot imagine that a euthanasia charge without any type of cremation expense was $400 by itself)? If so, you would still have had to pay for services that night, regardless of whether euthanasia was involved.

No. It was just the "emergency fee" (we don't have an emergence clinic so the local vets are just on a rotating on-call schedule) and the euthanasia. There was no cremation, we took her home and buried her. We were not billed for any exam. It was an obvious injury, I don't know if that's why :

ETA: I just found out that one of my friend's vets does not ever charge for euthanasia if that pet has ever been seen there. I'm glad to know that this policy does exist.

Raw food diets usually cure ailments of pets as well as humans. Dogs and cats thrive on raw meat. Even as a vegan myself I did feed my cat raw meat (they sell it in the freezer section of pet stores). It really does heal.
One reason our pets are sick and animals in nature aren't (cancer, tumors, etc) is the crap they consume in pet foods. Raw meat...it's the real deal.

Partnered mama with DD (01/04) and DD (08/09) and 8 critters, including a !

Okay, so the emergency fee did cover more than just the euth. It pays for the vet's time and his/her expenses. We often waive the euth. fee for long-time clients, it's something that is handled differently at every clinic.

Half-marathon running Mommy to 3 spunky girls and 1 sweet boy. Spending my days and nights where my kids need me most- at home with them!!

Okay, so the emergency fee did cover more than just the euth. It pays for the vet's time and his/her expenses. We often waive the euth. fee for long-time clients, it's something that is handled differently at every clinic.

I'm not trying to say that the fees weren't legitimate, they were. I could have left my cat in a box until the morning and then taken her in and avoided the fees, maybe she would have died by then anyway.

In my family, it would be the care of the pet that would be the primary determining factor.

I do have a friend whose cat has been on dialysis for a year. And although I love my cats dearly, I would let my cat go peacefully rather than do something like that to them. It's not like you can sit down with the cat and say, "Hey, I know this hurts but it's making you healthier over the long haul."

I wouldn't do something to a pet that I'd hesitate to do to a human. I once lost a macaw I adored because she was in cardiac arrest due to an infection and the vet offered to "crack her" and apply direct stimulation to her heart. Even if she had survived that, I knew the recovery would be horrendous for her. It's incredibly hard for humans to recover from it.

I often think that we are able to give pets more grace at the end of their lives than humans because for some reason, it's easier for humans to send their companion animals off with dignity than it is their grandparents.

I've spent a bit more than $2000 on a kitten. He's now been a faithful friend for 11 years. I have no regrets.

I don't think anyone should keep a pet unless they can cover reasonable vet costs. If you have a healthy dog and he gets hit by a car, you need to be able to cover the cost of casting his leg. If he needs $5000 of doggie ICU care, that's another story. If you can't afford to spay/neuter and provide regular vet checks, then you shouldn't get a pet.

That $2000 kitten saved my DH's life several years later. I wouldn't have the money I do now for animal care if that cat hadn't been there. The kitten became a ripple in the pond that made a difference.

Jen

secular classical-ish mama to an incredible 5 year old DS and an amazing 6 year old DD.

Our Yorkie was bitten by a pygmy rattle snake about 2 weeks ago. The anti venom cost 1500.00 and the treatment after almost 1000.00 so we did spend 2500 just last week for our little one. I don't know what we would have done if it cost much more than that.

He's doing fine now. We love him but I sure wish he didn't find that snake so interesting.

Raw food diets usually cure ailments of pets as well as humans. Dogs and cats thrive on raw meat. Even as a vegan myself I did feed my cat raw meat (they sell it in the freezer section of pet stores). It really does heal.
One reason our pets are sick and animals in nature aren't (cancer, tumors, etc) is the crap they consume in pet foods. Raw meat...it's the real deal.

I feel that feeding raw is the main reason my pets have had zero health issues so far.. (so far meaning in the last 4 years, since I took over care for my older dog from my parents, and adopted my younger dog and 2 cats) unlike almost all my friend's pets. Knock on wood, because my cats are still young and my dogs are old and middle-aged, so I'm sure something will crop up soon..

That's the main reason I spend the extra money on (usually human-grade) meat. I feel it's preventative health care.

Before I started feeding my now 12-year-old dog raw 4 years ago, she was slow, stiff (she had never really recovered all the function in her hind legs after being hit by a car in 2002), fat and just seemed old, and she had bad teeth, the most horriffic breath, chronically infected ears (which she had issues with all her life), and flea allergies.

Now she acts just like she did when she was 5. She runs again, keeps up with my other dog on walks (she comes up to his elbow), went from 25 lbs to 18, her breath doesn't smell bad, her ears don't have any wax in them.. she's truly a different dog. People can't believe she's 12.

we just paid 3,000 a couple of months ago to have surgery on my rottie's leg. he's still recovering. i had no idea if/how much i would spend on him but when it came time to do it, our family agreed that there wasn't another option but to do it. he'll be 6 years old at the end of this month.

well, it looks like we have to make more decisions now...

somehow we just found out he has advanced diabetes and ketones in his body that are eating away. he's been on IV fluids all day after a day of not eating, throwing up water and losing weight. he lost about 15 lbs in 2-4 days! we are all in shock, even the vet is. he was just in for post-op stuff and not sick one week ago! who knew that i would post this and then be hit with this sort of decision. i will be re-reading. i need help; my head is spinning and my heart is aching.

somehow we just found out he has advanced diabetes and ketones in his body that are eating away. he's been on IV fluids all day after a day of not eating, throwing up water and losing weight. he lost about 15 lbs in 2-4 days! we are all in shock, even the vet is. he was just in for post-op stuff and not sick one week ago! who knew that i would post this and then be hit with this sort of decision. i will be re-reading. i need help; my head is spinning and my heart is aching.

somehow we just found out he has advanced diabetes and ketones in his body that are eating away. he's been on IV fluids all day after a day of not eating, throwing up water and losing weight. he lost about 15 lbs in 2-4 days! we are all in shock, even the vet is. he was just in for post-op stuff and not sick one week ago! who knew that i would post this and then be hit with this sort of decision. i will be re-reading. i need help; my head is spinning and my heart is aching.

I'm so sorry I've treated animals with diabetes and I would do it again but it sounds like he is also having other issues

For us, it isn't a certain amount of money, but would depend on the circumstance and diagnosis. I would not spend thousands of dollars on chemo and radiation, for example, if the oncologist told us (with pathological backing) that the odds weren't great...snip...For surgery that had good odds, I'd put it on a CC, regardless of the amount, and hope for the best. Same with any other illness that we had a reasonable chance of curing.

we've spent A LOT on our pets (definitely over $5000) over the years for a variety of unforseen and unpreventable health problems (not including just the run of the mill pet costs), and i don't regret a dime of it.